


Shameful: Gallavich and Queer Representation on Shameless

by orphan_account



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Criticism, Gen, I Don't Even Know, I just really fucking hate this show., M/M, Meta, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:01:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21871879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: I apparently write 2k-word essays when I'm angry. #GallavichDeservesBetter.
Relationships: Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich
Comments: 17
Kudos: 47





	Shameful: Gallavich and Queer Representation on Shameless

**Author's Note:**

> A disclaimer: I am not someone who has religiously watched Shameless since the very beginning, nor can I claim that I understand every single thing that this show has tried to do. I’ve had many of these thoughts since Season 07, but I’m writing this mainly as a reaction to the recent events that have happened since Season 10 began airing. I write from the perspective of a semi-closeted queer person, and a Communications student with a lot of focus on media literacy and queer representation. I mostly wrote this as a way to work through my own thoughts and feelings, so I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. By attacking this from a more logical point of view, though, I hope I explain why this situation has been particularly upsetting for myself and others who may share my opinions and/or experiences. 
> 
> If you've read through all of that and still want to read my thoughts (and can promise not to be an asshole if you disagree), proceed.
> 
> P.S. I know AO3 isn't really the place for this, but I lost my tumblr access and just needed a place to vent.

I discovered Shameless in 2014 after coming across videos from 4x08—the club kiss and the loft scene—on my dash. I'd never seen or heard about this show, but I remember watching Mickey say "together" and thinking, _wait a minute... this seems special._

That drew me in, and I spent the next few weeks catching up on the show, which I followed pretty regularly until a few episodes into Season 06. More on this later.

Like many Shameless fans at the time, I was enamored by Ian’s and Mickey’s story. I was shocked that a fairly mainstream TV show would tackle a queer relationship and queer issues with this much nuance and depth. It was unlike any LGBTQ+ relationship I had ever seen in the media, and up until a few weeks ago, I was convinced it was the most compelling queer TV narrative of the decade. Ian and Mickey were such interesting characters, and their growth as individuals and as a unit in the early seasons was such a joy to watch.

What I loved was that their joint storyline was very much rooted in sexuality, but it was obvious that being gay wasn’t the only thing that defined either of them. Both Ian and Mickey are multi-faceted characters, and it was so easy to root for and relate to both of them. They were two boys on the opposite ends of the spectrum—one so sure of himself and his love, and another so scared of who he is and what that means—and they had to learn to somehow meet in the middle. Their story was nuanced, believable, and just beautiful to watch.

Forgive the bias, but Mickey Milkovich took my goddamn breath away—everything about his character was stunning. Here was a boy who, behind a downright criminal exterior, was facing a traumatizing amount of abuse, neglect, and self-hatred with no support system to lean on. To see his transformation on screen (coupled with Noel Fisher’s truly remarkable acting) was as heart-warming as it was heart-wrenching, and he will always be one of my favorite TV characters of all time.

I know people say Season 05 is where it started going to shit, but I actually disagree. I really think this season’s Gallavich storyline, however difficult it was to watch for their fans, was necessary. While I think the writing did leave the relationship feeling a bit unbalanced, it gave their story a lot of added complexity, and showcased Mickey’s personal development quite well. Even their breakup at the end, I felt, was a necessary heartbreak.

And then Season 06 happened.

I will maintain until the day I die that the 6x01 prison scene was just bad writing. It was cruel, ridiculously out of character, and did nothing but trivialize the development they’ve had in the past five seasons. Still, I don’t count this as the moment queer representation on Shameless went down the drain. I chalk this up to bad writing, quite possibly fueled by a bitter writing room that wanted to prove that they didn’t need Mickey Milkovich in their show. The moment queer representation on Shameless went down the drain, I’d say, is when Ian Gallagher laughed about Mickey Milkovich’s rape.

This moment not only paints him as an insensitive piece of shit (Nothing will ever justify this, so if you’re going to defend him, save your breath.), but also is a giant, glaring Fuck You to his entire relationship with Mickey.

Quick note about media messaging: the powerful thing about it is that a message doesn’t have to be loud and in your face to make an impact on an audience. This moment, small as it was in the grand scheme of things, tells the audience that the show views its queer relationship—quite frankly the best one it has—is nothing more than a punchline. After five seasons of working through all of their issues, taking care of each other, and helping each other grow, it really wasn’t anything serious. This moment is where the audience’s perception of Ian, Mickey, and Gallavich really changed.

I stopped religiously watching the show after that. I’d check in every few episodes to see updates on the main plots, and watch clips to see if anything interesting or redeeming happened with Ian. We can all guess how disappointed I was.

Ian’s flippancy towards his relationship with Mickey, and how the show as a whole referred to him throughout Ian’s relationships with Caleb and Trevor, were deplorable to say the least, and caused what I believe was a major shift in how queer audiences saw the show.

As a struggling queer person, to be able to truly see yourself in a character is a privilege. To see yourself happy in a loving relationship is nothing short of a small miracle. Therefore to lose half of a beloved pair, and have the other half constantly slandering his entire person, was a slap in the face. And as someone who saw themselves in Mickey Milkovich, it tells you that you can give up so much of yourself, and do everything right by the person you love, and it still won’t be enough.

Mickey came back briefly in Season 07, and to be honest it was difficult to be happy about it when I heard Ian and Fiona discuss Mickey’s return. From the unfair comparison to Jimmy/Steve, to the “I can’t get him out of my head” line, it still felt trivializing. Mickey wasn’t some wild and reckless fling. He was _it_ for Ian. If at this point you were watching and didn’t think so, we may not have been watching the same show.

So Mickey came back, they banged, they ran off, but Ian couldn’t do it, so they separated at the border. I’m just gonna go ahead and say this was supremely unsatisfying and leave it at that.

Quite frankly, I don’t want to get into the Gay Jesus storyline, because I cared so little about it that I’ve basically forgotten half of what happened. Suffice to say the entire thing, once again, felt like a half-assed plot device with no real point, and I hope they never revive it again.

And then, of course, 9x06.

I may be in the minority, but I actually felt like this would’ve been a good enough ending. Barring my disbelief that Mickey was actually able to orchestrate the whole thing then arrive at the cell exactly 10 seconds after Ian does, it reinforces a cliche that we all secretly want to believe: two people who are meant to be together will always find their way back. It’s a happily ever after—or at least as close to it in the Shameless universe—that doesn’t end in one half of a gay couple dying or getting AIDS or being bashed. The bar for queer couples in media has truly been set so low, but in that moment, I counted it as a win.

When it was announced that Cam and Noel were returning for Season 10, I had a lot of doubts, but I trusted that Noel and Cam loved their characters too much to come back to a narrative that would ruin it. Throughout filming and as we were getting bits of news and spoilers, I was almost starting to feel pretty good. Maybe, just maybe, things were on the up. Maybe Ian and Mickey can finally get the narrative they deserve.

I really should have learned, years ago, that the number one rule of being a Shameless viewer is to always keep your expectations on the floor.

The plot for Ian and Mickey in Season 10 so far has been absolute drivel, and quite frankly I refuse to believe that these are the same characters I’ve invested years of care into. Mickey has been reduced to an impulsive dumbass (seriously, who in their right mind would believe that after their conversation in 10x03 he would try to escape prison _again_ ), and Ian’s actions have been so inconsistent that it’s hard to even have an opinion. They’ve become a couple who fights and fucks—something that is not only damaging queer representation, but damaging relationship representation, as well—with barely any of the easy affection and care we as viewers _know_ they're capable of. As someone who once saw myself in both Ian and Mickey, I’m sat here flabbergasted at how ten years of narrative development has suddenly just disappeared. And sure, the 10x03 scenes and what we saw of 10x06 were _cute_ , but when it’s so obviously just pandering to get a positive audience response for a lackluster storyline I’m just finding it so hard to care.

10x06 is an episode I have a special bone to pick with, because it _should_ have been the most crucial episode for the over-arching Gallavich storyline since Season 05. It _should_ have showed how far they’ve come after everything they’ve been through. It _should_ have had a proper, serious, healthy conversation about where they’re at and how to proceed, or at the very least a reassurance to each other that they’re going to figure it out. Instead, we got six minutes of screen time, an incoherent narrative, and scenes that were not only cut, but entirely incomplete.

Breaking the fourth wall for a moment, Shameless’s treatment of Gallavich—and by extension Cam and Noel—this season has been absolute shit. They have been touted as the main act for all of pre-season promo, only to be fed a banal storyline and completely sidelined with screen time. It's more than enough proof that Shameless doesn't care about its queer characters. What used to be the beating heart of this show—this show that claims to champion the LGBTQ+—has been reduced to cheap laughs and filler scenes in between even worse plot lines with characters not even a fraction of the fan base cares about.

But beyond the fact that queer representation on Shameless is now in absolute shambles, what makes my blood boil is the fact that we now have definitive proof that the scenes we have been asking for for years _exist on the cutting room floor_.

To make it clear, I have always maintained neutrality with the way this show has been handled. I have disagreed with plenty of creative decisions, but with regard to plot, I have always believed that it isn’t a show’s responsibility to give me everything I want. But to be baited with what I want to see and then have it deliberately withheld is not something I will stand for. To have scenes that are _crucial to the narrative_ withheld for no reason is unacceptable. To have it done by a show that uses these characters to bring in nearly half of their fan base is absolutely disgusting. 

This is a disservice to your writer whose story you have butchered. It is a disservice to your actors who have put their heart and soul into this relationship, and returned on the condition that you would allow them to. It is a disservice to your characters who have a story to tell. It is a disservice to your fan base, who you have consistently baited with promises that you clearly don’t intend to keep. Above all, it is a disservice to your queer audience, who has found joy and comfort in this relationship and only want to see prosper so they can have some hope that someday, they can find that, too.

The degeneration of queer representation on a tv show is a special kind of heartbreaking. But to know that showrunners profit out of doing it deliberately is a special kind of sickening, and Shameless truly should be ashamed.

**Author's Note:**

> [edit post publication] Holy. Shit. I wrote this as a way to vent but I'm so happy so many of us share the same sentiments. Please feel free to use the comments section to vent further or add anything you'd like to say! I'm a safe space for all opinions, just don't be a dick. :)
> 
> Also, just a note that I wrote this in the aftermath of 10x06, and prior to 10x07. Regardless of what happens in Season 10b, my sentiments will remain the same.


End file.
